Royal BAN: Why one royal title will NEVER be used again – ‘Selfishness was his epitaph’

He told Express.co.uk: “It is ironic that, although the change in the name of the Royal Family from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the quintessentially English Windsor in 1917 was a stroke of genius, this Dukedom is never likely to be used again by a member of the British Royal Family.” Mr Fitzwilliams suggested Edward VIII left such a negative mark on history that no royal would like to be known as the Duke of Windsor in the future.

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He continued: “The Dukedom of Windsor is unlikely ever to be used again as it will forever be identified with the Queen’s uncle, who abdicated in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson.

“His public reputation was for a while that of the King who gave up his throne for love, but in recent decades his reputation has become that of a King to whom patriotism and duty meant nothing, as well as a fascist sympathiser.

“His selfishness has become his epitaph.”

The Queen was not born heir apparent as her father was third-in-line to the throne at the time (Image: GETTY)

Wallis Simpson had divorced from two husbands before marrying Edward VIII (Image: GETTY)

King Edward VIII was forced to choose between the kingdom and Ms Simpson, an American socialite who in 1936 was divorcing from her second husband.

Upon abdicating, the King, known as David to his relatives, confessed he could not bear the thought of ruling the country without Ms Simpson by his side.

But the King had previously shown contempt for the role he was born to fulfil during his youth.

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In a letter to Princess Alice, the future King Edward VIII wrote on June 4 1925: “I am so heartily sick of being cheered and yelled and shrieked at.

“It almost hurt sometimes.

“I suppose the fact of the matter is that I’m quite the wrong person to be Prince of Wales.”

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Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII became the Duchess and Duke of Windsor following the abdication (Image: GETTY)

King Edward showed contempt for his role while Prince of Wales (Image: GETTY)

And to the married woman he was in a relationship with for more than a decade before meeting Ms Simpson, Freda Dudley Ward, Edward even confessed he wanted to “chuck” his job.

He said in a letter dated April 28 1920: “Each day, I long more and more to chuck this job and be out of it.

“The more I think of it all, the more certain I am that, really, the day for kings and princes has passed.

The Royal Family’s family tree (Image: EXPRESS)

“Monarchies are out of date.

“Now I know it’s a rotten thing for me to say, and sounds Bolshevik.”

While the Dukedom of Windsor is likely to become the most famous one to remain vacant for the time being because of King Edward VIII’s behaviour, it is far from being the only Dukedom that has been abandoned by the Royal Family within the years.

Prince Albert Victor, known to his family as Prince Eddy (Image: GETTY)

Mr Fitzwilliams said: “Dukedoms with pasts which are identified with unsavoury historical figures, such as Clarence, with its links with Queen Victoria’s notoriously hedonistic grandson Prince Eddy, often become extinct.”

Prince Albert Victor, known to his family as Prince Eddy, was the heir to the British throne, and was made Duke of Clarence and Avondale by Queen Victoria on her 71st birthday.

However, the Dukedom became extinct following his premature death in 1892, after being linked to a sexual scandal.